Wildest Dreams [ON HOLD]

❝ i think i've had enough ❞

I think I've had enough,

I might get a little drunk.

I say what's on my mind.

I might do a little time.

'Cause all of my kindness,

Is taken for weakness.

"Four Five Seconds" -Rihanna (ft. Kanye West and Paul McCartney)

"So any reason why you wanted a background check on a heroine addicted prostitute?" Jacen asked as he sat down across from me.

Jacen, or his people at least were fast.

We were sitting in a cafe in New York, a little over twenty four hours after I had asked him for the information, and I was already holding a thin file containing everything on Amanda Jennings.

I glanced down and flipped open the cover, pretending I didn't hear him, even though that would've been basically impossible, since the cafe was pretty quiet. Maybe he'd get the signal that I didn't want to talk and leave me alone.

But, of course, it was Jacen Winston and he rarely ever makes my life easy.

"I didn't think you'd be friends with her," he remarked.

I ground my teeth together. "She's not a friend," I muttered. "And you don't know anything about me."

He took a long sip of his coffee, taking his time to respond. For a moment, when I heard the quiet slurping sound, I thought he was done asking questions, and would let me read through the file in peace.

But, we're still talking about Jacen Winston.

"You have a habit of stalking strangers or something?" he asked.

"You have a habit of running people over?" I shot back. If I had known he would see and hold it against me forever, I would've never Googled Jacen Winston. All I found out was that he liked fries with Mayo and it wasn't like I ever use that information.

"So if she isn't a friend, then who is she?" Jacen continued, ignoring my jab. "Former enemy, secret lover, someone who stole your boyfriend-"

"Does it matter?" I snapped.

"Considering I'll be asked why I told our family detective to run a background check on a dead heroine-addicted prostitute, yeah it does," he said.

I gulped. "Just say it was for a friend."

"And when they ask who?"

"Someone you don't talk to anymore." I glanced at him. "I doubt we'll talk much after this anyway."

His jaw set, his whole expression becoming a little colder. "No, I guess we won't." And with that, he picked up his coffee and walked away.

"Thanks for the fil-" I started, but he was already out of the cafe.

Well, it's not like I liked him anyway.

I shook my head and turned back to Amanda's file, flipping through to try and find some kind of connection to Nik. She had been born in some small town in Arizona that I had never heard of. Her dad was unlisted and her mom died from cancer a year and a half after she was born. From there she'd been placed in the foster care system.

Nik had been in and out of foster homes for most of his life too, but he had told me he had lived in California all his life and Arizona was pretty far from San Bernardino County. Since the file said the same for Amanda but with Arizona, that also ruled out schools, or meeting randomly at a coffee shop or party or something.